Communication strategy for public service campaigns against violence against women in Cuba

Abstract

Introduction: Violence against women is emerging as a serious social and cultural problem around the world. In Cuba, centers, institutions, and organizations implement persuasive communication strategies aimed at informing, identifying, educating, and raising awareness among citizens about the harmful effects of violence on victims and their families, as well as the legal consequences it can have on perpetrators. In this context, the Oscar Arnulfo Romero Center (OAR) stands out. This non-governmental organization (NGO) has been operating on the island for four decades, with the aim of supporting the country's social development on issues related to equality and equity. Methodology: This article determines the persuasive communication strategy of the Cuban campaign against violence against women, EVOLUCIONA (2018-2022), carried out by the OAR Center, based on a narrative analysis of its graphic and audiovisual proposals. Narrative analysis allows, first, to study its content, or, in other words, its story: it enables an immersion in the central idea of ​​the campaign, its characters and their biopsychosocial behavior, the space where the actions take place, the time given to each of them, and the reason for them; and then, to study the expression, or, where appropriate, the discourse: the written and spoken words, the still and moving images, the voice, the sound, the music, the order, the duration, and the frequency. Results: These interpretations of the graphic and audiovisual messages corroborate that the EVOLUCIONA campaign, in accordance with its conceptual axis, focuses its messages on young people, both men and women, to raise awareness about the need to transform bad practices into positive attitudes of respect, inclusion, and equality. As part of the persuasive communication strategy of the EVOLUCIONA campaign, its creators maintain the use of traditional media such as radio and television to socialize their messages, adding the use of digital platforms and social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, today X; this aspect differentiates the EVOLUCIONA campaign from others carried out previously. This distinctive characteristic led to a closer approach of the campaign's products and messages to a young audience. Conclusions: The EVOLUCIONA campaign contributed to raising the perception of what violence against women is, how to confront it, and where it can be reported.